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Energize Your Fitness Program

Hiring a Personal Trainer

By Tom Bonanti

The
New Year is here. You’ve been fighting a head cold all
throughout the holidays, you’ve put on five pounds since
Thanksgiving, and you’re bored as hell with your old routine at
the gym. Why not seek the assistance of a qualified personal
trainer for at least a few sessions and leave your frustrations
behind? More and more people are beginning to regard a personal
trainer not as a luxury, but as an essential guide to health and
wellness as well as a beautiful body.

So where do you
find this person? Great glutes, perky pecs and a body-building
trophy don’t mean squat if he doesn’t know anything more about
fitness than how to stick a syringe of DecaDurabolan in his
rump. Although not mandatory, the majority of competent trainers
elect to become certified fitness professionals.

Certification requires taking courses and passing a detailed
written exam on anatomy and physiology, exercise kinesiology,
assisted stretching, etc. Several organizations certify personal
trainers including the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and
the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). Such
certifications require trainers to stay current with continuing
education units and carry up-to-date liability insurance.

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Certified or not, evaluate whether
the trainer has a personality you enjoy. Who the hell wants to
work out with “Little Mary Sunshine” at the crack of dawn on a
Monday morning after a rough weekend? Who’d be sick enough to
pay a Gestapo storm trooper to bark orders in the gym after a
day of abuse at the office? Spend time observing trainers and
talk with the ones you’ve scoped out. A trainer needs to deliver
positive reinforcement as well as constructive criticism. He
must sense when to be forceful and when to be gentle; when to
push for that extra rep and when to pull back. You’re going to
spend a bit of time and a few bucks with this person, so the two
of you better have good chemistry.

Does your prospective
trainer live the fitness lifestyle? Doing drugs, smoking,
pigging out, and ending up face down drunk on the floor in a
dark bar every weekend should not be regular activities in your
trainer’s life. A trainer’s fit physique, good eating habits,
positive attitude and clever motivational skills should inspire
you to reach new fitness heights.

Check out your
prospective trainer by evaluating references. Word of mouth is
the best testimony, so talk to people who are presently engaging
this trainer. Inquire about where he trains and ask about fee
structures, time flexibility and availability. Most trainers
offer a free first consultation. Take him up on it! Your health
as well as your body can benefit by finding the right help. Go
for it!